Page 4 - Conclusion
The Creative Live! Cam Sync 4K we are reviewing today may only two characters different in name than the Live! Cam Sync V3 I reviewed a few months ago, but they are totally different inside and out. Starting from the outside, even though the enclosure design is different, the Live! Cam Sync 4K still features a clean, simple, and functional appearance with a privacy cover. The latest model features a physical microphone mute switch and indicator LED, which is a welcomed addition for maximum privacy and security. Like the Live! Cam Sync V3, the universal clamp can stand by itself, but can also be tripod mounted as well as clipped on top of any LCD display, including your laptop. Furthermore, the camera can be rotated on all axes to get the perfect angle. On the inside, the Sony Starvis IMX415 1/2.8" 8MP CMOS image sensor produces sharp, reasonably smooth 4K videos at 25fps and up to 40FPS at 1080p. The 95° horizontal field of view lens can capture a lot of area with very reasonable distortion at the edges. The backlight compensation really works, significantly increasing the brightness of the video in low light scenarios. The microphone also demonstrates acceptable performance. There are a few key areas of improvement for the Creative Live! Cam Sync 4K in my opinion. First, 4K at 30FPS and 1080p at 60FPS will be a massive improvement. Second, even though backlight compensation works very well in low light scenarios, we can also observe a loss in detail with increase in noise compared to the Live! Cam Sync V3. Third, the microphone has a slight high-pitched electronic noise, which was not seen in its smaller brother. Like the Live! Cam Sync V3, while I like the physical privacy cover, I find it awkward to use in practice. Also, I did not find SmartComms Kit that useful. The background noise reduction feature works, but it will significantly distort your voice. For about $50 at press time, the Live! Cam Sync 4K is about $10 more than the Live! Cam Sync V3. If you need 4K and backlight compensation, this is the model to buy, but for everything else, the dollar-to-performance ratio still sticks with the Live! Cam Sync V3.
Creative provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Networks Review Focus Summary:
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks, but should be considered before purchasing.
6/10 means A product with its advantages, but drawbacks should not be ignored before purchasing.
-- Final APH Networks Numeric Rating is 6.5/10
Please note that the APH Networks Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other publications.
The Creative Live! Cam Sync 4K is a well-designed webcam with solid physical privacy features and high-resolution image capture, but its video quality leaves a bit to be desired.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Software, Sample Videos, Analysis
4. Conclusion
